JACK REACHER (Rated PG-13)

If it weren’t for the “Mission Impossible” movies, Tom Cruise probably would not have yet established his bona fides as an action figure. “Jack Reacher” should eliminate any lingering doubts.

Readers, though, of British thriller writer Lee Child’s novels may quarrel with the selection of the diminutive Cruise for the role belonging to a physically imposing person tall enough to be an NBA player.

“Jack Reacher” may be a reach, at least with respect to the protagonist’s stature, but not for the end result of the gritty, emotionless realism that Cruise delivers with skillful intensity.

Cruise’s Jack Reacher, the film’s titular character, is an old-school operative, fascinating for his ability to live off the grid. He’s a drifter who only travels by bus and doesn’t have a cell phone or credit cards.

Having served in the U.S. Army with distinction as a military policeman, Reacher is now a loner who would prefer to forget about his past experiences, including his service during the Iraq War.

But the past rears its ugly head when former military sniper James Barr (Joseph Sikora) is the apparent shooter who picks off five people strolling along the riverfront walk outside of Pittsburgh’s baseball stadium.

When the shooter is arrested, based on a trail of evidence that seems all-too-convenient, his first request is scrawled on a piece of paper: “Get Jack Reacher.”

The mysterious Reacher, already a legendary figure, is not one who can be found. Oddly enough, when he is needed, Reacher materializes as if summoned during a séance.

The drifter has a history with the alleged shooter, but it’s not a favorable one. The case against the prime suspect looks to be solid, right down to the fingerprint obtained from a quarter deposited in a parking meter at the crime scene.

Brilliant in math, logic and the power of deductive reasoning, Reacher sets out on an investigative search to solve the case, regardless of where the evidence points to guilt or innocence.

The suspect is represented by Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), an able big-firm lawyer who just happens to be the daughter of District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins).

Thus, the case is complicated by the personal and professional conflicts between the DA and the defense attorney. Add to the mix Detective Emerson’s (David Oyelowo) lack of enthusiasm for Reacher’s involvement.

Always a step ahead of everyone else, Reacher advises Helen to find out more about each of the victims. He’s also puzzled that an expert sniper needed six shots to kill the five so-called random victims.

As Reacher starts turning over rocks, suspicious characters just happen to show up in strange circumstances. Shadowy figures are increasingly nervous that Reacher’s probing will uncover some problematic facts.

A misunderstanding with a pretty girl (Alexia Fast) causes five guys to challenge Reacher to a fight outside a bar. Not a good move, since the ex-Army cop dispatches these guys with relative ease.
 
Of course, this won’t be the last time that Reacher is required to use his impressive physical skills for some intense hand-to-hand combat with mysterious assailants.

None of these encounters happens to be arbitrary confrontations with ordinary street thugs. Except to the authorities, it’s obvious that nefarious things are occurring to cover up the truth.

How come a creepy guy who looks very much like director Werner Herzog (well, actually it is him), a Russian villain with missing fingers and a glassy eye, is manipulating a bunch of trigger-happy bad guys so as to keep James Barr as the only suspect?

A nice touch to stir up a great action scene is a muscle-car chase in which Reacher’s pursuit of bad guys in a borrowed vintage Chevy Chevelle careens through the concrete canyons of Pittsburgh in the dangerous high-speed spirit of “The French Connection.”

Arriving late to the party is Robert Duvall’s gun-range owner, who unknowingly has evidence of a key person on the proxy grassy knoll and becomes an ally for the final showdown at a rock quarry.

Having not read Lee Child’s “One Shot,” the novel on which the storyline is based, I suspect that essential plot points are missing or distorted, causing fans of the “Jack Reacher” literary franchise a fair amount of dismay.

As a cinematic enterprise, the Christopher McQuarrie-directed “Jack Reacher” delivers the basic pleasures of an action film with enough vigilante justice, fights and car chases to satisfy the indispensable formula.

And so what if Tom Cruise comes up a little short for the size of the hero? If the “Mission Impossible” days are over, “Jack Reacher” is the answer for an aging action hero’s quest to stay in the game.

TELEVISION UPDATE

As a writer, director, producer and actor, veteran funnyman Mel Brooks is getting some well-deserved recognition for his canon of work.

HBO is currently running a special program entitled “Mel Brooks Strikes Back!,” a conversation between Brooks and Alan Yentob, creative director for the BBC.

“Mel Brooks Strikes Back!” features clips from some of his classic movies and TV work, including “Your Show of Shows,” featuring Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner.

In the conversation with Alan Yentob, Brooks discusses his family and upbringing, his experiences during World War II and background stories about his films.

Brooks is one of the few artists who have received an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy and a Tony. These awards attest to a career of comedy greatness.

Coincidentally, Shout Factory recently released the DVD/CD box set “The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy.”

This DVD/CD combo includes his memorable short film “The Critic” which won the 1963 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Animated). To my knowledge, this short has never been released before.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport’s Soper-Reese Community Theatre provided a jam-packed venue for this year’s Christmas concert of the Lake County Symphony, presented by Clear Lake Performing Arts.

The event took place on Sunday, Dec. 16, and also featured vocal performances by a number of local artists.

The concert opened with a tongue-in-cheek rendition of the late Burl Ives’ hit “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” sung by four artists dubbing themselves The Men of Soper-Reese.

The group included Mike Adams, Wally Fuller, Nick Jeremiah French and Doug Rhoades, backed by Nick Biondo on mini-cymbals, Tom Aiken at the piano and 5-year-old Taylor Parkinson, granddaughter of symphony Conductor John Parkinson. At the song’s conclusion she graciously presented each of the singers with a flower bouquet.

The 15 members of the Clear Lake Performing Arts Youth Orchestra then took the stage, under the direction of Susan Condit.

They delivered an impressive presentation of “Believe,” the theme from the movie “Polar Express,” and a special salute to the holiday season called “December Fanfare,” written by contemporary composer Andrew Dabczynski as a demonstration of fusing elements of classical music with old-time fiddle playing. The youngsters delivered a highly professional job on both pieces.

The more serious side of the concert then took place, with a symphony string section (which includes a harpsichord played by Tom Aiken) launching into Arcangelo Corelli’s classic Christmas Concerto, Op 6, No. 8. I.

Corelli wrote the piece shortly after the invention of the violin, and since he was an acknowledged master of this instrument his composition was arranged almost exclusively for strings, in this case 36 players.

A hallmark of Corelli’s work is “The Concertino,” a trio of musicians whose soaring notes both contrast with and blend into, the full orchestra. These parts were played ably by violinists Andi Skelton and Eleanor Cook, and cellist John Weeks.

At the conclusion of the Corelli work, the balance of the musicians filed in to bring the orchestra up to its full strength of some 65 members, including brass, woodwind and percussion players.

Parkinson then led the group through a series of popular Christmas favorites including “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” and others, ending with the familiar strains of Victor Herbert’s “March of the Toys.” with outstanding solo support from Catherine Hall on piccolo and drummer Scott Wise.

During intermission Doug Rhoades assisted Kim DeAlba, representing the CLPA Auxiliary – the fund-raising arm of the organization – in auctioning off a hand-decorated violin, painted by local artist Jay Jackson. Richard Birk submitted the winning bid.

The concert’s second half was opened by featured vocalist Shelly Trumbo-Mascari, who delivered jazz versions of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time is Here,” “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow! And “Santa Claus is coming to Town.” Dressed as she was in a sleek, raspberry-colored gown, Mascari won extended applause.

Showing that music is often a family affair, Mascari’s father Walt Trumbo then sang Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” backed by the soaring trumpet of Gary Miller, and also won enthusiastic audience support when he shifted from baritone to an upper register for a big finish to the traditional Bing Crosby favorite.

Tenor Carl Stewart next delivered a flawless presentation of “O Holy Night,” followed by Sarah Cunningham singing Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” and a scat version of “Jingle Bells” where she was expertly backed by her husband Cory Cunningham on trombone, Tom Aiken on piano and David Ferrario on electric bass.

Next was the popular vocal group EarReverence, made up of Bill Bordissso, Valerie Reid, Nick Reid and standing in for ailing Carol Cole Lewis, Bonnie Trumbo (Shelly’s mom).

This time they were joined by Carl Stewart, and they then took over in leading the audience through a medley of sing-along favorites, ending with Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” where most of the orchestra members donned traditional Santa hats, except for Conductor Parkinson, who sported a fur-trimmed black version labeled “Bah, Humbug.”

As has been a tradition almost from the symphony’s founding in 1977, the Christmas Celebration finale was the singing of George Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” this time led by all the singers.

The next performance of the symphony will take place on May 18, 2013, when Clear Lake Performing Arts presents the annual Mothers Day concert.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Art House Gallery will hold its Third Friday Art Gala this Friday, Dec. 21.

The event takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the gallery, 15210 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake.

There will be a new art show to view, Christmas gifts for sale, refreshments, live music and a chance to meet and mingle with artists.

This is Clearlake's only art gallery, so come out and support the arts by attending.

The Salvation Army will be in attendance, so come and support their organization which helps so many in our community.

Visit the gallery online at http://thearthousegallery.net/ .

Among the most ancient uses for language are descriptions of places, when a person has experienced something he or she wants to tell somebody else about.

Some of these get condensed and transformed into poetry, and here’s a good example, by Susan Kolodny, a poet from the Bay Area of California.

Koi Pond, Oakland Museum

Our shadows bring them from the shadows:
a yolk-yellow one with a navy pattern
like a Japanese woodblock print of fish scales.
A fat 18-karat one splashed with gaudy purple
and a patch of gray. One with a gold head,
a body skim-milk-white, trailing ventral fins
like half-folded fans of lace.
A poppy-red, faintly disheveled one,
and one, compact, all indigo in faint green water.
They wear comical whiskers and gather beneath us
as we lean on the cement railing
in indecisive late-December light,
and because we do not feed them, they pass,
then they loop and circle back. Loop and circle. Loop.
“Look,” you say, “beneath them.” Beneath them,
like a subplot or a motive, is a school
of uniformly dark ones, smaller, unadorned,
perhaps another species, living in the shadow
of the gold, purple, yellow, indigo, and white,
seeking the mired roots and dusky grasses,
unliveried, the quieter beneath the quiet.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2011 by Susan Kolodny from her first book of poems, After the Firestorm, Mayapple Press, 2011. Poem first appeared in the New England Review, Vol. 18, no. 1, 1997. Reprinted by permission of Susan Kolodny and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2012 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (Rated PG-13)

Maybe I’m not the optimal reviewer for “The Hobbit,” but it’s the major film of the week, with Warner Brothers having persuaded its competitors that the box office only has room for one big epic release.
 
First of all, I’ve never read the J.R.R. Tolkien novels and I barely made it through the first film of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
 
Now along comes “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which is a prequel to “The Lord of the Rings,” or so I believe, since the action takes place 60 years earlier.

The thought of watching a prequel stirred dread in my soul, if only because George Lucas, it can be fairly said, ruined the whole notion with the dreadful “Star Wars” prequels.

Being a novice to this whole Tolkien business, I was pleasantly surprised that “The Hobbit,” at least to this uninitiated amateur, was much more entertaining than I reasonably expected.
 
Still, director Peter Jackson appeared to be in no rush during the film’s opening act to get things moving at a decent pace. Instead, there is a lumbering amount of exposition to set up the raft of characters.

Nevertheless, for the apprentice viewer, there is much to be established, and aside from Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Wizard, it’s easy to get lost and fail to distinguish between the dwarves, elves and trolls.

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) lives a contented, peaceful existence in his cozy home of Bag End in the Shire. You see, Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys the complacency and quiet enjoyment of his wooded paradise.

Meanwhile, a group of 13 rowdy dwarves, led by the stoic, legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), seeks to reclaim their lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug.

To this end, the warrior dwarves, who are apparently unfamiliar with basic hygiene, show up at Baggins’ little Hobbit home, barging in as uninvited dinner guests.

The party crashers are all part of the Wizard Gandalf the Grey’s (Ian McKellan) plan to draft the reluctant Baggins into a journey that will travel through the badlands of Middle-earth.

The destination lies somewhere to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, but to get there the group has to travel though some really treacherous lands, where constant peril abounds.

This is where it gets interesting. After an initial slow pace, the action heats up with many battles so fierce and intense that it should delight any action junkie, if not a rating stronger than PG-13.

In these fights, the hardy group takes on Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer. I know that if “necro” is part of the name, then death surely follows.

What I don’t know are the differences between a goblin, an orc and a troll. It may be an issue of size, but of this I am certain, these are some of the ugliest creatures to roam the Middle-earth universe.

As time goes on, the initially timid Baggins gains confidence and strength. These qualities are put to the test when Baggins meets the creature that will change his life forever, namely Gollum (Andy Sirkis).

Gollum is a weird little dude who lives in a cave. On the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Baggins, now alone with Gollum, discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him.

Aside from Gollum’s playful yet oddly dangerous behavior, this creature mostly speaks gibberish and loves riddles. Baggins is put to the test on an intellectual scale.

The most remarkable thing to come from this encounter with Gollum is that Baggins gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring, one that holds unexpected and useful qualities. The simple, gold ring is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth, and so it will play a big part in the future.

Let’s face it: whatever carping comes from critics who take apart Peter Jackson’s efforts to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision to the screen, the diehard fans will likely not care.

“The Hobbit” runs almost three hours, and so it demands a lot of attention as well as patience, at times. But from my vantage point, I would say the next installment will be worth seeing.

For the here and now, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” proves to be, at least for one who cared not so much for “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, an unexpected pleasure.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This year’s Lake County Symphony Christmas Concert will feature not only the 60 piece orchestra playing traditional holiday favorites, but also vocal presentations by a number of nationally and internationally recognized artists.

The concert will take place on Sunday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m. at Lakeport’s Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 275 S. Main St. It is sponsored by Clear Lake Performing Arts.

Joining the orchestra will be Shelly Trumbo-Mascari singing a medley of Christmas standards. Her recording and performing credentials include a nationally released solo album and movie trailers for Universal Pictures and NFL sporting events.

She has toured the U.S. and internationally on behalf of the U.S. Government, winning accolades along the way. In prior appearances Trumbo-Mascari has won the hearts of Lake County audiences.

Another local favorite, Carl Stewart, was chosen by Warner Brothers as a staff song writer, but also served as a judge for two years at the American Song Writers’ Festival and also sang leading roles in Carmen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Man of La Mancha and many others.

Stewart is a true crossover artist, moving effortlessly from classical music to the country-oriented pop music favored by “Blue Collar” the local band he originated.

A graduate of Kelseyville High School, Sarah Cunningham studied with a number of nationally recognized vocal teachers before attending California State University Sacramento where she not only directed the school’s jazz ensemble, but also sang with its big bands.

She received her master’s of music degree in 2007, and returns to Lake County from Roseville for this performance, where she has thrilled music-lovers with her vocal presentations.

Another well-regarded local vocalist Walt Trumbo also will join in singing Christmas favorites with the Symphony.

The CLPA Youth Orchestra, directed by Susan Condit, will present two numbers – “Believe” from the Disney film “Polar Express” and “December Fanfare” a musical salute to the holiday season written by contemporary composer Dr. Andrew Dabczynski.

Surprise addition to this year’s program will be an opening number of “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” sung by an a Capella group calling themselves “The Men of Soper-Reese.” The group’s credentials have not yet been released except a note that they ‘approach their art with enthusiasm.”

John Parkinson, Symphony Conductor, has put together a diverse program that includes the famed “Christmas Concerto” written in 1690 by Arcangelo Corelli, with the notation added to the original score that it was “Made for the Night of Christmas.”

It opens with a small group called a concertina made up of violinists Andi Skelton and Eleanor Cook and cellist John Weeks, backed by the orchestra. As the program progresses the wind and percussion sections join in as they play many Christmas favorites such as Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “White Christmas,” Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” and many others.

A symphony tradition, the audience sing-along, will be led once again by the vocal quartet Ear-Reverence who, in spite of their name, show proper reverence in leading the audience in singing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” They are made up of Bill Bordisso, Valerie Reid, Nick Reid and Carol Cole Lewis.

Since the Christmas Concert is usually the most popular of the symphony’s season, Clear Lake Performing Arts suggest those wishing to attend get their reservations in early.

They can be made online at www.soperreesetheatre.com or by phone at 707-263-0577 or in person on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Soper-Reese box office or at the Travel Center in the Shoreline Shopping Center on South Main Street, Lakeport.

As always youths under 18 are admitted free to the full-dress rehearsal at 11 a.m., while adults wishing to take advantage of this more casual presentation can do so for only $5.

General admission to the concert is $25 or $20 for CLPA members. A limited number of premium seats also are available for $30.